Ribbon roll holder



1953v E. M. CONNOLLEY 3,0

RIBBON ROLL HOLDER Filed Jugs 17, 1960 E. M. CONNOLLEY INVEN TOR.

United States Patent 3,072,351 RIBBON ROLL HOLDER Emmet M. Connolley,5414 S. 36th St., Omaha, Nebr. Filed June 17, 1960, Ser. No. 36,826 1Claim. (Cl. 24255.3)

This invention relates to dispensers for materials sup plied in rolls,such as rolls of ribbon, and in particular a plurality of standardsextended upwardly from a base with aligned spring actuated cups havingarcuate protruding surfaces in openings in the standards providingspindles, whereby rolls of materials are forced into dispensingpositions between the standards, and empty cores of the rolls arereadily withdrawn by compressing the cups.

The purpose of this invention is to provide a holder for dispensingmaterials from rolls in which the rolls are readily inserted in theholder and wherein empty cores of the rolls are readily removed.

Various types of stands have been provided for materials supplied inrolls and whereas such stands or holders are suitable for toilet paperand the like they are not satisfactory for ribbon and other similarmaterials. With this thought in mind this invention contemplates spacedstandards mounted on a base with spring actuated elements protrudingfrom inner surfaces of the standards and positioned to snap into ends ofcores of rolls of material whereby rolls of ribbon and the like mayreadily be forced into dispensing positions between the standards, andwherein empty cores of the rolls are readily removed from the standards.

The object of this invention is, therefore, to provide a dispensingholder for rolls of ribbon in which the rolls of ribbon are easilypressed into dispensing positions, and wherein the cores of the rollsare easily removed.

Another object of the invention is to provide a dispensing holder forrolls of ribbon and the like in which the rolls may readily be insertedin and also readily removed from the holder without screws, bolts, orother fastening means.

Another important object of the invention is to provide a dispensingholder for rolls of material in which rolls of different sizes may beused in the holder.

A further object of the invention is to provide a dispensing holder formaterial in rolls in which roll holding elements of the holder arereadily assembled by the average layman.

A still further object is to provide a holder for dispensing material inrolls in which the rolls of material are readily inserted in the holder,in which the holder is of simple and economical construction.

With these and other objects and advantages in View the inventionembodies a horizontally disposed panel providing a base, uprightsmounted on and extended upwardly from the base, said uprights havingaligned openings in upper ends thereof cup-shaped elements havingperipheral flanges extended from edge, thereof positioned in theopenings of the standards and retained in the standards by lips in endsof the openings, and springs positioned in the cup-shaped elements forurging said .elements outwardly of the standards.

Other features and advantages of the invention will appear from thefollowing description taken in connection with the drawing, wherein:

FIGURE 1 is a plan view of the ribbon roll holder with rolls of ribbonsshown therein.

FIGURE 2 is a longitudinal section through the ribbon roll holder takenon line 22 of FIGURE 1.

FIGURE 3 is a longitudinal section through the upper end of one of thestandards of the ribbon roll holder, with the parts shown on an enlargedscale, and with the lower part of the standard broken away.

3,072,351 Patented Jan. 8, 1963 FIGURE 4 is an exploded viewillustrating the component parts of the upper end of one of theintermediate standards.

While one embodiment of the invention is illustrated in theabove-referr'ed-to drawings, it is to be understood that they are merelyfor the purpose of illustration and that various changes in constructionmay be resorted to in the course of manufacture in order that theinvention may be utilized to the best advantage according tocircumstances which may arise, without in any manner departing from thespirit and intention of the device, which is to be limited only inaccordance with the appended claims. And while there is stated theprimary field of utility of the invention it remains obvious that it maybe employed in any other capacity wherein it may be found applicable.

In the accompanying drawings, and in the following specification, thesame reference characters are used to designate the same parts andelements throughout and in which the numeral 10 refers to the inventionin its entirety, numeral 12 indicating a base, numerals 14 and 16indicating an upright at one end of the holder, nu-

merals 18 and 20 sections of an upright at the opposite end of theholder, numerals 22 and 24 sections of uprights positioned intermediateof the uprights at the ends of the holder, numeral 26 cups havingperipheral flanges 28 positioned in upper ends of the uprights, numerals30 and 32 springs positioned in the uprights at the ends of the holder,numeral 34 springs positioned in the intermediate uprights, and numeral36 fillers positioned in the cups.

The uprights are provided in two sections and the sections are securedtogether by adhesive or other suitable means. The sections 22 and 24 ofthe intermediate uprights are provided with openings 38 and 40 andannular inwardly extended lips 42 and 44 are provided in outer ends ofthe openings to limit outward movements of the peripheral flanges of thecups. The cups are urged out wardly with the flanges 28 against the lipsor peripheral flanges 42 and 44 by the springs 34.

The inner sections 16 and 18 of the standards at the ends of the holderare provided with openings 46 and 43 having lips 50 and 52 at the ends,similar to the openings 38 and 40 of the intermediate standards, and theouter sections 14 and 20 of the end standards are provided with springreceiving recesses 54 and 56, respectively.

Operation With the parts assembled as illustrated and described a standis provided for dispensing ribbon and the like from rolls and new rollsare inserted in the stand by forcing the cups 26 outwardly compressingthe springs until the cups snap into ends of the cores 58, whereby thecups provide spindles upon which the rolls 60 rotate. After the ribbonor other material is used from the roll the core 58 is withdrawn byagain compressing the springs and the core may be replaced by a newroll.

It will be understood that any number of uprights may be used in aholder, and the uprights may be spaced to compensate for materials ofdilferent widths.

From the foregoing specification it will become apparent that theinvention disclosed will adequately accomplish the functions for whichit has been designed and in an economical manner, and that itssimplicity, accuracy, and ease of operation are such as to provide arelatively inexpensive evice considering what it will accompish and thatit will find an important place in the art to which it appertains whenonce placed on the market.

It is thought that persons skilled in the ant to which the inventionrelates will be able to obtain a clear understanding of the inventionafter considering the description in connection with the drawings.Therefore, a more lengthy description is regarded as unnecessary.

Changes in shape, size, and arrangement of details and parts, such ascome within the purview of the invention claimed, may be resorted to inactual practice if desired.

Having now described the invention that which is claimed to be new anddesired to be procured by Letters Patent is:

In a holder for rolls of material, the combination which comprises abase, spaced pairs of uprights positioned on and extended upwardly fromthe base, said uprights having aligned circular openings in upper endsthereof and the openings of intermediate pairs of the uprights havinginner peripheral flanges in outer ends thereof, the inner uprights ofthe pairs of uprights spaced inwardly from the ends of the base havinginner peripheral flanges in outer ends thereof, and the outer uprightsof said pairs of uprights spaced inwardly from ends of the base havingspring receiving recesses in inner surfaces thereof, said recesses beingaligned with said openings of the uprights, cups having peripheralflanges on outer surfaces of open ends thereof mounted in the openingsof the uprights and positioned to extend through the peripheral flangesin the outer ends of the openings of the intermediate uprights and outerends of the openings of the inner uprights of the pairs of uprightsspaced inwardly from the ends of the base, and springs extended throughthe openings of the intermediate pairs of uprights and openings of theinner uprights of the pairs of uprights spaced inwardly from the ends ofthe base, said springs being positioned with ends thereof in the cups ofthe intermediate pairs of uprights and cups of the inner uprights of thepairs of uprights spaced inwardly from the ends of the base therebyurging said cups to extended positions in relation to the uprights forproviding spindles for rolls of material, the ends of the springs in theinner uprights of the uprights spaced inwardly from the ends of the baseopposite to the ends positioned in the cups being positioned in saidrecesses of the outer uprights of the pairs of uprights spaced inwardlyfrom the ends of the base.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS

